Library of Spiritual Science by Rudolf Steiner. Rudolf Steiner: biography and his books

"... there will be a time when sound teaching
will not accept, but according to their own
they will choose their teachers according to their whims,

that would flatter the ear; and from the truth
turn away hearing and turn to fables "
2 Tim. 4: 3-4.

The teaching considered in this article - the anthroposophy of Rudolf Steiner - has every reason to be included in the number of those "fables", the New Testament prophecy about which we have used today as an epigraph. Reading Steiner's works, one cannot but catch the eye of his stubborn desire to tell humanity the "truth" about Christ and Christianity.

Rudolf Steiner is an Austrian occult philosopher, social reformer and architect. He was first recognized as a researcher of Goethe's legacy and his theory of knowledge. At the beginning of the 20th century, he founded his esoteric Christian philosophy (anthroposophy)

For example, Steiner writes:

"... spiritual science (ie anthroposophy. - VP) wants not to found a religion, but to more religiously adjust the spiritual life ... it just leads to Christ as an Essence standing in the center of religious life";

"Spiritual science does not want to replace Christianity, it wants to be an instrument for comprehending Christianity. ... Spiritual science does not want to replace Christianity with anything else, but only wants to help understand Christianity deeper and more cordially."

The desire for a deeper understanding of Christianity is undoubtedly welcome. The question is different: what does anthroposophy have to do with Christianity in its content? Is it possible, adhering to the anthroposophical teaching, to achieve the goal proclaimed by Rudolf Steiner or not? Let's try to figure this out. Should I do this at all? Rudolf Steiner writes:

“A strange mistake is made by those who fight spiritual science from the point of view of Christianity. Let them one day ask spiritual science if it is fighting what can be found within Christianity? It confirms everything on which Christianity is based. But to this it adds and something else. To prohibit this other does not mean to insist on Christianity, but it means to insist on the limitations of Christianity. "

As we can see, according to Steiner, a Christian's disagreement with "spiritual science" is a mistake, but the basis for this disagreement is the criterion of the truth of the doctrine proposed in the Holy Scriptures (note here that Steiner was very fond of citing the Bible in his works):

"... even if we or an Angel from heaven began to preach the gospel to you other than what we preached to you, let it be anathema" (Gal. 1: 8).

Can Steiner's "gospel" be accepted if it is contrary to Scripture? Is the urge to base one's spiritual life on truth and not on Steiner's speculation a sign of Christians' narrow-mindedness? As we can see from the above quotation, the Apostle Paul calls to follow the truth, rejecting lies, while he clearly considers something that is contrary to the apostolic gospel to be a lie. Let us think, is there any reason to trust the teachings of Steiner and build our knowledge of Christianity on anthroposophy? But first, let's say a few words about the founder of this teaching.

Rudolf Steiner(1861-1925) was born on February 27, 1861 in the town of Kraljevic in Austria-Hungary. He graduated from the school in Wiener Neustadt, then moved to Vienna. In Vienna, Steiner received a natural science and mathematical education, was engaged in philosophy, literature, history. In 1882 he worked on commentaries on the works of Goethe. Anthroposophy (Greek anthropos - man and sophia - wisdom) Steiner created in Germany at the beginning of the XX century. Until 1909 he was a member of the Theosophical Society founded by H.P. Blavatsky, and even headed its German branch. Later, after leaving the Theosophical Society, Steiner founded the Goetheanum anthroposophical center. Blavatsky's followers on the reasons for the exit of Rudolf Steiner from the Theosophical Society write:

"Whatever reasons for Steiner's departure from the Theosophical Society were put forward by anthroposophists, the main reason will remain his offended self-esteem. Expecting after the death of Blavatsky to be elected chairman of the Theosophical Society, Steiner was not awarded such an appointment ..."

It is easy to see that the ardent assurances of theosophists that all "religions lead to one God" do not prevent them from actively fighting dissidents in their own movement. For example, theosophists consider the dark forces to be the spiritual source of anthroposophy:

"In addition to open and obvious enemies, Theosophy has secret and, therefore, more dangerous. Among such enemies are Anthroposophy and its followers, ... the dark managed to recruit one of the members of the Theosophical Society, Rudolf Steiner, as their employees, ... the dark gave the world a semblance of truth through Anthroposophy .... The dark forces took possession of Steiner slowly but surely throughout his life. They finally took possession of him six years before his death. According to highly authoritative sources, the last six years of his life, Steiner was no longer Steiner. in the body of Steiner, a certain dark force entered, which continued Steiner's activity in the direction she needed ... ".

As you can see, for Theosophists and Agni Yogis, anthroposophy is the teaching of dark, demonic forces, and Rudolf Steiner is a man possessed by them. However, for Christians, information from sources such as Theosophy and Agni Yoga is not authoritative, because these teachings themselves, judging by their content, have the same spiritual root as anthroposophy. But the very fact of such "showdowns" inside the occult movement, especially when you consider that theosophists constantly accuse Christians of schisms.

In his writings, Rudolf Steiner constantly calls anthroposophy a science. Can you agree with him? Let's look at his work:

"... since ... spiritual science (anthroposophy. - VP) concerns a completely different area of ​​research than natural science, - that is, not the area that can be perceived with the help of ordinary senses, that is, the area of ​​external nature, - and the realm of the spirit, it should be obvious that just the natural-scientific way of thinking, where it is a question of the study of the spiritual realm, should be substantially modified, should become different than in the realm of natural science, ... a person should investigate himself in spiritual science, resorting to the only tool at his disposal for such research, namely - to himself .... The first stage of spiritual research is the separation of the soul-spiritual from the physically corporeal. The second stage is connection with beings outside the sensible world. "

According to Rudolf Steiner himself, the method of cognition used by anthroposophy and the scientific method of cognition are different from each other, Steiner sees the reason for this in the difference in the objects of study. Steiner strives to become a contactee, but not a scientist, in the classical sense of the term. If one of the properties of scientific knowledge is logical provability, and this requirement is mandatory, then in anthroposophy the situation is different:

“… For him (the initiate - VP) this“ secret wisdom ”does not need“ proof. ”And he also knows that proof is not required for someone who, like him, has a“ higher feeling ”.

The criterion of truth in Steiner's way sounds simple: it is true, because it seems to me so! But this argument is untenable: Theosophists, for example, with the help of their "higher feeling" feel that Steiner is possessed, why not believe them in this matter?

Steiner writes about the relationship between the goals of his teaching and science:

"What is now often referred to as the" only true "science may even serve as a hindrance rather than help to achieve this goal (the discovery of clairvoyance - VP)."

Thus, anthroposophy, like other occult schools, is incompatible with science. As for supersensible knowledge, one of the prominent followers of occultism spoke about it in the following words:

"... the acquisition of higher knowledge through personal cognition of supersensible, otherworldly worlds gives the right to say anything, gives the right to any kind of mystification."

The occultist Klizovsky attributed these words precisely to anthroposophy, expressing in them his opinion about the teachings of Steiner, it is difficult to disagree with his judgment and an Orthodox person, however, claims to supersensible knowledge are the lot not only of anthroposophy, but also of other occult teachings, and therefore the addressee of this statement can be expanded.

Steiner's judgments about the pursuit of truth are noteworthy:

"You cannot say: what is the use of me in the intention to completely follow the laws of truth, if perhaps I am mistaken about this truth? It's all about striving, in the way of thinking. Even the one who is mistaken, in his striving for truth, has a force that rejects him from the wrong path. "

Goetheanum (Goetheanum) - the world center of the Anthroposophical movement, located in the Swiss city of Dornach and named after Goethe

First Goetheanum - World Center for the Anthroposophical Movement

As we can see, Steiner, in principle, did not recognize in himself the ability to make mistakes. Christians, however, do not at all believe that the pursuit of truth itself is the guarantor of infallibility, the Holy Scripture speaks of false teachers who, perhaps, are sincerely mistaken in their views, but their end, nevertheless, is destruction:

"... and many false prophets will rise up and deceive many" (Matthew 24:11), "... and you will have false teachers who will introduce destructive heresies and, rejecting the Lord who redeemed them, will bring on themselves swift destruction" (2 Peter 2: 1).

The spiritual life of a Christian is based on Divine Revelation, personal spiritual experience is also important, but its truth is verified by its compliance with the content of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church. How can one be sure of the truthfulness of the spiritual experience of Rudolf Steiner? No way! Anthroposophists are forced to blindly believe Steiner, relying only on the authority of their teacher and on his words.

Jesus Christ sent his apostles into the world to preach the Gospel to the world (Mark 16:15), saying that the Second Coming will not occur until the Gospel is preached:

"throughout the whole universe" (Matthew 24:14).

The gospel evangelism and Holy Scripture as a whole are the main source of spiritual edification for all Christians. Venerable John Damascene wrote:

"... to investigate the divine Scriptures is a most beautiful and soul-beneficial business, ... the soul, watered by the divine Scripture, grows fat and gives ripe fruit - the Orthodox faith and is adorned with ever-flowering leaves, that is, with godly deeds."

How Rudolf Steiner, the creator of "spiritual science", which is:

"a tool for comprehending Christianity"?

Let's turn to his works:

"... the events in the gospels in general must be understood not historically, as if they had only the meaning of the facts of the sensible world, but mystically, ... one must first learn to read the gospels correctly (emphasis added. - V.P.) in order to understand in what sense they are set themselves the task of a story about the Founder of Christianity. The story is conducted in the style of mystical messages. "

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Read also on the topic:

• Teachings and practices of anthroposophy by Rudolf Steiner- Vitaly Pitanov
• Christianity and Steinerism- Archpriest Sergiy Bulgakov
• The Anti-Christian Essence of Waldorf Pedagogy- Archpriest Eugene Shestun
• Waldorf Pedagogy: Made in a Sect- Deacon Andrey Kuraev
• Waldorf School. Mother's impressions- Yana Zavatskaya
• Waldorf schools as schools of anthroposophy- Vitaly Pitanov
• Can Rudolf Steiner's Waldorf schools be considered non-religious?- Den Dagan, Judy Daar

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It should be noted that Orthodox Christians perceive the narration of the Gospel, first of all, precisely historically. The morning prayer rule of an Orthodox Christian includes the reading of the Creed, which speaks of the crucifixion of Christ under Pontic Pilate: according to the remark of St. Filareta Drozdov, this instruction is intended:

"... to designate the time when He (Christ. - VP) was crucified."

Thus, for Christians, evangelical events are historical; they are by no means "mystical messages." Steiner sees the need for:

"... to illuminate ... the Gospels as it happens in anthroposophically oriented spiritual science. If you followed ... the explanations of the Gospels (made by Steiner - V.P.), then you noticed that the basis was not taken from what the evangelicals that have come down to us scriptures, because what is stated in them must first be treated as something completely unreliable (emphasized by us. - V.P.). Therefore, everywhere you have to refer to the reading of the spiritual letter, to the Chronicle of Akasha ... This is how Akasha should be restored. The Chronicle of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke .... In the future, to explain the Gospels, it will first be necessary to restore their true original appearance ... only reading in the Chronicle of Akasha can guarantee the truth of the Gospel text. "

So, the Gospels that have come down to us, Steiner believed:

"expounding something completely unreliable"

In contrast to the information about the evangelical events, which were gleaned by Steiner from his own mystical "insights" "The Chronicles of Akash." However, every "visionary" who reads the "Akashic Chronicle" for some reason always finds there something of his own, significantly different from the insights of his predecessor. For example, what Rudolf Steiner read about Christ in these chronicles for some reason does not coincide with what the Chronicle revealed to Levi, the author of the Gospel of Jesus Christ of the Aquarian Age, who also claimed free access to the Chronicle. But if the revelations of the ghosts who read the "Akashic Chronicle" as an open book are so contradictory, then who of them to trust?

Rudolf Steiner, like all occultists, recognized the law of karma. For example, here is his opinion on the baptism of John (Mark 1: 4-5; Luke 3: 3):

"They (ie those who came to John the Baptist. - VP) received Baptism in order to cleanse themselves from sins, that is, to change the completed karma of their previous lives ...".

Like many occultists, Rudolf Steiner confused two different concepts - "karma" and "sin". Karma is a mechanically acting law of a causal relationship between an act and its result. Sin is a violation of God's commandments. Karma is eliminated, sin can be forgiven. In the first case, we are dealing with the doctrine of the law, the action of which is unconditional, in the second - with the free will of a person who is able to bring repentance or stagnate in sin. Anthroposophy makes a person a slave to an abstract law; in Christianity, a person is correlated with God the Personality.

In addition to teaching about the law of karma, anthroposophy preaches the law of reincarnation. Steiner writes:

"By its actions, the human spirit really prepared its destiny. In its new life, it is bound by what it did in the past"; "The spirit is subject to the law of reincarnation, the law of repeated earthly lives." The doctrine of reincarnation is foreign to Christianity, although occultists constantly strive to convince Christians of the opposite.

There are verses in Scripture that completely refute the possibility of the law of reincarnation:

"... for all of us must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, so that each may receive [according to what] what he did while living in the body, good or bad" (2 Cor. 5:10).

It is not said "living in bodies", but it is said - "living in a body." Also in the Holy Scriptures we can read:

"... Abraham said: child, remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus - evil; now he is comforted here, and you are suffering; they cannot come to you from here, nor do they pass over to us from there "(Luke 16: 25-26).

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, which speaks of the posthumous fate of man, we do not find the slightest hint of the possibility of reincarnation after death.

Finally, a verse that directly tells us that we only live once:

"And how people are supposed to die one day, and then judgment ..." (Hebrews 9:27).

The foundation of Christianity is Christology. The question, Who was Jesus Christ, is fundamentally important: is He one of the spiritual teachers on a par with Krishna and Buddha, as theosophists teach, or is He the only true God (John 1: 1-5), How does the Bible reveal Him? What did Rudolf Steiner think about this? It should be noted at once that anthroposophic Christology does not stand up to criticism. From his creations, the reader learns that in the world, it turns out, there existed ... two Jesus (!):

"At the beginning of our era, two boys of Jesus were born. One came from the Nathan line of the house of David, the other from the Solomon line of the same house. These two boys were not born at the same time, but still soon one after the other. In the Solomon boy Jesus, who is depicted in the Gospel of Matthew, the very personality that previously lived on Earth as Zarathustra was incarnated. So in this boy Jesus of the Gospel of Matthew we have before us the reincarnated Zarathustra or Zoroaster. And in this boy Jesus, as depicted in the Gospel of Matthew, he grows up to the twelfth the personality of Zarathustra. In the twelfth year Zarathustra leaves the body of this boy and passes into the body of another boy Jesus, described in the Gospel of Luke. That is why this child immediately changes. Parents are surprised to find him in Jerusalem in the temple after the spirit entered him Zarathustra This is indicated in the circumstance that the boy, after he was lost and then again Ayden in Jerusalem, in the temple, says that his parents do not recognize him, because they knew this child - Nathan's boy Jesus - as he was before. When he began to speak with the scholars of the Scriptures in the temple, he could speak in this way because the spirit of Zarathustra entered into him. Until the thirtieth year, the spirit of Zarathustra lived in the youth Jesus, who came from the Nathan line of the house of David. In this other body, he matured to an even higher state. It should also be noted that in this other body, in which the spirit of Zarathustra now lived, there was a peculiarity that Buddha radiated his impulses from the spiritual world into his astral body. "

Let us leave on the conscience of Rudolf Steiner that the spirit of Zarathustra lived in the body of Jesus, and that the astral body of Jesus was "charged" by the impulses of the Buddha. With the same degree of certainty, he could assert, for example, that Krishna, or, say, the chief shaman of New Guinea, lived in Jesus until the age of thirty. Let us pay attention to Steiner's statement about the existence of two Jesus, based on the opinion that two different people are described in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Differences in the genealogy of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke have attracted attention since ancient times, but church authors did not tire of explaining their reason again and again. Eusebius Pamphilus (IV century) gives an explanation of the Christian scholar Julius Afrikan (died 237) in his "Church History":

"The names of generations in Israel were numbered either by nature or by law: by nature, when there was a succession of legitimate sons; according to the law, when, after the death of a childless brother, his brother gave his child the name of the deceased. Then there was still no clear hope for a resurrection and a future promise. considered at the same time with mortal resurrection: the name of the deceased had to be preserved forever.Therefore, of the persons mentioned in this genealogy, some were the legitimate heirs of their fathers by nature, while others were born by the same fathers, and by name belonged to others. and real fathers, and those who were, as it were, fathers. Thus, neither the one nor the other Gospel is not mistaken, counting names by nature and by law. The descendants of Solomon and Nathan were intertwined before that due to the "resurrection" of childless, second marriages and the "restoration of the seed," that the same persons could justly be considered the children of both their imaginary and their real fathers. and they reach Joseph by a winding path, but true. "

Thus, both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke speak of the same Person.

Who was Christ for Steiner? It is entirely possible that Rudolf Steiner himself could not have answered this question unambiguously. In his writings, we find many very different statements on this topic. In addition to the fact that, according to Steiner, the spirit of Zarathustra lived in Jesus until the age of thirty, and at the same time the karmic judge Christ was equal to Buddha, it turns out that

"Mithras and Dionysus were at the same time the being who penetrated humanity with the event in Palestine ...".

One gets the impression that Steiner's logic in these statements is simple: you cannot spoil porridge with butter. Further, Steiner writes:

"... it is necessary to distinguish between the bearer of Christ and Christ himself in this bearer. In the body, which is the bearer of Christ, there was no human individuality, which reached, for example, high development, because the individuality of Zarathustra left this body, ... the being of Christ did not live in man , who reached a special height of an adept, but in a common man who differed from others only in that he was an organism abandoned by Zarathustra ... ".

Thus, if Zarathustra leaves the body of Jesus at the age of thirty, then it does not remain empty, for, as Steiner writes,

"In the thirtieth year of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, Christ entered his physical, etheric and astral bodies, that is ... he did not take part in their construction since childhood."

Interestingly, Rudolf Steiner's fantasies, again, have nothing to do with Holy Scripture: like all occultists, he did not understand that the word "christ" is not a proper name in itself, "christ" means "messiah", "anointed of God" and is the name of the ministry:

"... we have found the Messiah, which means: Christ" (John 1:41).

But Rudolf Steiner was not interested in the Gospel, but in the "Akashic Chronicles", therefore his "revelations" about Christ are so significantly different from the Revelation of God.

However, even on the above, Rudolf Steiner's fictions about Christ do not end, he writes:

"The human body, which at the time of the Baptism from John stood in Jordan, hid in itself after Baptism, after the" I "of Jesus of Nazareth came out of three bodies, hid within itself completely consciously the higher human" I ", which is usually unconscious for a person with world wisdom acts in a child "; "To know the forces that act in a person in his childhood, this means to know Christ in a person."

According to Steiner, Christ lives in every child. How, then, to understand the following words of Holy Scripture:

"That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are recognized as the seed" (Rom. 9: 8)?

This means that there are children who are not "the children of God," how can we assume that they are the abode of Christ?

The next characteristic feature of Steiner's Christology is that Steiner subordinates Christ to "cosmic forces":

"When in the last three years of his life, from thirty to thirty-three years, Jesus of Nazareth, as Jesus Christ, wandered the Earth in Palestine, the whole cosmic essence of Christ continuously acted in Him. Christ was always under the influence of the entire Cosmos. He did not take a single step. without cosmic forces acting on Him (emphasis added. - VP) ".

As we can see, Christ turns out not to be God, to whom

"given ... all authority in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18),

A being, subordinate to the Cosmos and blindly fulfilling the commands of certain cosmic forces. By adopting the Christology of Rudolf Steiner, Christians will have to abandon the words of the apostle Thomas:

"My Lord and my God" (John 20:28),

Because God, over whom there is still the "Cosmos" who controls Him, is no longer God, but only a service force, like an angel. Steiner's true God, who subdued even Christ, turns out to be the faceless cosmos. From this alone it is easy to conclude that Rudolf Steiner's fantasies about Christ have nothing to do with Christianity, they not only do not help

"... to understand Christianity deeper and more cordially",

But they lead the reader away from Christ revealed in Divine Revelation.

Christianity teaches that God creates the world through the Word (John 1: 1-3), in Christianity Christ is the everlasting God:

"Jesus said to them: truly, truly, I say to you: before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58), "I saw Satan falling from heaven like lightning" (Luke 10:18).

In Steiner's anthroposophy, the life of Christ is subordinated to ... a horoscope:

"And what happened here with Jesus of Nazareth was the constant fulfillment of the horoscope (emphasis added. - V.P.): for at every moment something happened that usually happens only at the birth of a person. This could be so only because the whole body of Nathan's Jesus remained accessible to the influences of the entire totality of the forces of the cosmic-spiritual hierarchies leading our Earth. "

Steiner, it seems to him, finds the justification for his opinion in the Holy Scriptures, namely in those places of the Gospel, where the time of certain events is indicated:

“That being who then wandered on Earth had, no doubt, the appearance of every other person. But the forces acting in him were cosmic forces that came from the Sun and the stars; they guided the body. And what Jesus Christ did happened in harmony with the entire being of the world, with which the Earth is connected, which is why the Gospels so often barely audibly indicate the position of the luminaries in the accomplishments of Jesus Christ.

Let's read in the Gospel of John how Christ finds his first disciples. It says: "it was the tenth hour," for the Spirit of the entire Cosmos expressed itself in this fact in accordance with the condition of time. Similar indications are less clearly given elsewhere in the Gospels, but one who knows how to read the Gospels will find them everywhere. "

But if a person says that he had breakfast at nine o'clock, does this mean that his breakfast at this particular time was predetermined by the stars? Or is a person free to choose the time of their breakfast? Since ancient times, Christianity has fought against astrology, for example, St. John Damascene wrote:

"The Greeks ... say that through the ascent, and the setting, and the convergence of these stars, and the sun, and the moon, all our affairs are controlled - after all, this is what astrology does. For if we do everything as a result of the movement of the stars, then we do what we do out of necessity; and what happens out of necessity is neither virtue nor vice; if we have neither virtue nor vice, then neither praise and crowns, nor censure and punishment are unworthy - and God will turn out to be unjust, delivering benefits to some and disasters to others ... the death of what is dying ... ".

Jesus Christ is God, the stars are God's creation:

"And God created two great luminaries: a larger one to rule the day, and a smaller one to rule the night, and the stars; and God placed them in the firmament of heaven to shine on the earth, and rule day and night, and separate light from darkness . And God saw that [it was] good "(Genesis 1: 16-19). Having said that Christ is subject to the cosmic forces that came from the Sun and the stars,

Steiner thereby subordinated the Creator to His own creation, which is absurd not only on the basis of the Christian doctrine, but also on the basis of the doctrine of any traditional religion in the world that believes in a Personal God. In an attempt to prove the truth of his claim, Steiner writes:

“From the same point of view, it is necessary to judge, for example, the miracles of the healing of the sick. We will indicate only one place; it says;“ When the sun went down, they brought their sick to Him and He healed them. ”What does this mean? that this healing was associated with the entire position of the luminaries, that at the appropriate time there was such a world constellation, which could only be after the sun went down. This implies that the corresponding powers of healing could be manifested at that time after sunset. Christ Jesus is described as a mediator bringing the patient into contact with the forces of the Cosmos (emphasis added. - V.P.), which at that particular time could act healing. These were the same forces that acted as Christ in Jesus. Thanks to the presence of Christ, healing took place, because thanks to Him the patient was exposed to the healing powers of the Cosmos, which only under certain conditions of place and time could act as they do. they got in. "

The Gospel does not say anywhere that the healings performed by Christ were associated with the position of the luminaries, but only indicates the time when they occurred, and not always. After reading the Gospel, it is easy to see that Christ performed miracles at different times of the day, but nowhere is it said that He at least once refused to heal on the grounds that the stars had not yet taken the right position in the sky. As for the desire to present Christ as a conductor of the healing powers of the Cosmos, in the Gospel we read that He Himself was the subject of any miracles performed by the Lord:

“But Jesus said to them, My Father is still working, and I am working” (John 5:17).

In conclusion of the article, let us turn to the memories of Rudolf Steiner and his teachings of those who knew this person personally. Nikolai Berdyaev wrote:

"Rarely did anyone impress me as such a graceless person as Steiner. Not a single ray falling from above. He wanted to get everything from below, by a passionate effort to break through to the spiritual world .... Some anthroposophists impressed me as people possessed, in a manic state, ... believing anthroposophists are much more dogmatic, much more authoritarian than the most orthodox Orthodox and Catholics ... ".

Here is Ivan Ilyin's opinion on the teachings of Steiner:

"Anthroposophy" advanced by Steiner is a doctrine hostile to both real philosophy and true art. "

Rudolf Steiner believed that the opinion of others is the path to knowledge, and thinking serves to take care of the health of the mind:

"... it is in the assimilation of the messages of others that the first step to one's own knowledge lies, ... no one can become a" seer "in the highest sense, ... who has not worked into the life of thought before this ... And there is no better care for this health than genuine thinking. health may even be seriously affected if higher development exercises are not built on thinking. "

Well, these words, perhaps, should be heeded and not jeopardized your sanity by plunging into occult "exercises for" higher "development." The conclusion of the author of the article is simple: anthroposophy is an anti-Christian doctrine based on the "spiritual revelations" of one person. These "revelations" have nothing to do with the content of Holy Scripture and not only do not confirm the fundamental foundations of the Christian faith, as Rudolf Steiner tried to assure his followers, but, on the contrary, directly contradict them.

References

1. Steiner R. Theosophy. An introduction to supersensible knowledge of the world and the purpose of man. Yerevan. Noah. 1990.S. 155.

2. See: I. T. Frolov. Philosophical Dictionary. - M., Republic. 2001.S. 38.

3. See: Ibid. S.38-39.

4. Klizovsky A. Foundations of the world outlook of a new era. Amrita-Ural., Magnitogorsk. 1994.S. 298-306.

5. Ibid. S.298-306.

6. See: V.Yu. Pitanov. Judgment of Conscience: Agni Yoga Against Christianity. http://apologet.orthodox.ru

7. See: R. Steiner Anthroposophy and Christianity / R. Steiner Anthroposophy and the human soul. - M., Anthroposophy. 1999.

8. See: V.Yu. Pitanov. Channeling: "channel" or "gutter"? http://apologet.orthodox.ru

9. See: V.A. Karpunin. Logic and theology. SPb., Bible for all. S.94-95.

10. Steiner R. Theosophy. An introduction to supersensible knowledge of the world and the purpose of man. Yerevan. Noah. 1990.S. 14.

11. Ibid. P.15.

12. See: V.Yu. Pitanov. Esotericism as a path to racism. http://apologet.orthodox.ru

13. Klizovsky A. Fundamentals of the world outlook of a new era. Amrita-Ural., Magnitogorsk. 1994.S. 298-306.

14. Steiner R. Theosophy. An introduction to supersensible knowledge of the world and the purpose of man. Yerevan. Noah. 1990.S. 136.

15. See: A.I. Osipov. The path of reason in search of truth. - M., Ed. Sretensky monastery. 2002.

16. See: V.Yu. Pitanov. Spiritual experience as a source of truth. http://apologet.orthodox.ru

17. See: Archimandrite Alipy (Kastalsky-Borozdin), Archimandrite Isaiah (Belov). Dogmatic theology. Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 1998.

18. Venerable John Damascene. An Accurate Statement of the Orthodox Faith / Creations of St. John of Damascus. - M., Indrik. 2002.S. 314.

19. Steiner R. Mysteries of Antiquity and Christianity. - M., Spiritual knowledge. 1990. p. 77.

20. Complete Orthodox prayer book for the laity. - M., Sretensky monastery; A new book; The ark. 1998, pp. 11-12.

21. Catechism of the Orthodox Church. Compiled by Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov). - M., Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. 1995.S. 33.

22. The Chronicle of Akasha is a kind of energy field in which, as the occultists assure, the entire history of the Earth and the Cosmos is recorded. Clairvoyants, according to occult ideas, can read the akasha chronicle.

23. Steiner R. From Jesus to Christ. - Kaluga: Spiritual Knowledge. 1994.S. 125-126.

24. See: Levy H. Dowling. The Gospel of Jesus Christ of the Aquarian Age. SPb., Society of Vedic Culture. 1994.

25. Steiner R. Entry of the etheric Christ into earthly development. - M., Anthroposophy. 1994.S. 15.

26. See: V.Yu. Pitanov. Judgment of Conscience: Agni Yoga Against Christianity. http://apologet.orthodox.ru

27. Steiner R. Theosophy. An introduction to supersensible knowledge of the world and the purpose of man. Yerevan. Noah. 1990. p. 63.

28. Ibid. P.65.

29. See: V.Yu. Pitanov. Judgment of Conscience: Agni Yoga Against Christianity. http://apologet.orthodox.ru

30. See: Ibid. http://apologet.orthodox.ru

31. Steiner R. Spiritual guidance of man and mankind. Spiritual scientific consideration of the development of mankind. Kaluga. Spiritual knowledge. 1992. S. 54-55.

32. See: Eusebius Pamphilus. Church history. - M., Publishing house of the Orthodox St. Tikhon Institute. 2001.S. 30

33. Eusebius Pamphilus. Church history. - M., Publishing house of the Orthodox St. Tikhon Institute. 2001.S. 30-31.

34. Steiner R. Spiritual guidance of man and mankind. Spiritual scientific consideration of the development of mankind. Kaluga. Spiritual knowledge. 1992.S. 55

35. Steiner R. From Jesus to Christ. Kaluga. Spiritual knowledge. 1994. p. 91.

36. Ibid. P.94.

37. Steiner R. From Jesus to Christ. Kaluga. Spiritual knowledge. 1994.S. 28.

38. Ibid. P.96.

39. Ibid. P. 99.

40. See: V.Yu. Pitanov. Judgment of Conscience: Agni Yoga Against Christianity. http://apologet.orthodox.ru

41. Steiner R. Spiritual guidance of man and mankind. Spiritual scientific consideration of the development of mankind. Kaluga. Spiritual knowledge. 1992.S. 18.

42. Ibid. P.19.

43. Ibid. P.56.

44. See: R. Steiner Anthroposophy and Christianity / R. Steiner Anthroposophy and the human soul. - M., Anthroposophy. 1999.

45. Steiner R. Spiritual guidance of man and humanity. Spiritual scientific consideration of the development of mankind. Kaluga. Spiritual knowledge. 1992. p. 56.

46. ​​Ibid. P.56.

47. See: V.Yu. Pitanov. Judgment of Conscience: Agni Yoga Against Christianity. http://apologet.orthodox.ru

48. Venerable John Damascene. An Accurate Statement of the Orthodox Faith / Creations of St. John of Damascus. - M., Indrik. 2002.S. 198.

49. Steiner R. Spiritual guidance of man and mankind. Spiritual scientific consideration of the development of mankind. Kaluga. Spiritual knowledge. 1992.S. 57.

50. Berdyaev N.A. Philosophy of a free spirit. - M., 1994.S. 176.

51. Gavryushin N.K. In disputes about anthroposophy. Ivan Ilyin against Andrey Bely. // Questions of philosophy. 1995. No. 7. S. 100-102.

52. Steiner R. Theosophy. An introduction to supersensible knowledge of the world and the purpose of man. Yerevan. Noah. 1990. S. 127-128.

53. See: R. Steiner Anthroposophy and Christianity / R. Steiner Anthroposophy and the human soul. - M., Anthroposophy. 1999.

The nineteenth and twentieth centuries were significant in the history of mankind. For some hundred years, man has made significant progress in his development. This applies to absolutely all spheres of life, but the spiritual world of man was of particular interest to philosophers and scientists. During this period, various mystical teachings and schools of self-knowledge were actively formed, in which the human essence was viewed as a combination of several equivalent components. Some teachings very quickly lost their popularity, but others were able to organically enter the life of society and radically change it. One of the brightest representatives of the bygone century is Rudolf Steiner, whose biography is filled with the most incredible events and signs of fate. During his lifetime, this man caused an ambiguous assessment among his contemporaries, therefore, in this article we will not assess his activities, but simply tell about this extraordinary scientist who tried to change the whole world.

Rudolf Steiner: biography. Briefly about the main

The future genius was born in Austria, in the small town of Kraljevic, in February 1861 in a simple working-class family. In connection with the activities of his father, Rudolf Steiner often moved from city to city and managed to travel around almost the entire country in early childhood.

The boy studied very well, he was surprisingly quick-witted, and the parents sent the child to the Vienna Polytechnic School, where he received a very extensive education. Young Rudolph enjoyed studying natural sciences, religion, philosophy and history. Around the same period, he became interested in the works of Goethe, which had a great influence on his entire subsequent life.

From early childhood, the boy discovered psychic abilities in himself and saw in them a great gift from above, which must be developed and used for the good of people. Until a certain time, Rudolf Steiner hid his abilities from his parents and acquaintances, so as not to cause a flurry of negative emotions. But the young man constantly improved, independently studying philosophy, theosophy, and All his research Steiner began to dress in the form of books and scientific works, which gradually began to be published throughout Europe.

In 1891, he received his Ph.D. and began working with popularist magazines, hoping to interest a wide range of the public with his ideas. Unfortunately, Steiner's teachings and theories remained beyond the understanding and interest of ordinary people. But he begins to work closely with the Theosophists and actually becomes the leader of their society. All this time, the scientist has been working on new books and the theory of the science of anthroposophy, designed to give a person the opportunity to know himself through various spiritual practices and to discover new facets of consciousness and perception of the world. This science becomes the main brainchild of the scientist, which until his death was developed by Rudolf Steiner. The biography of the talented philosopher says that his labor piggy bank was replenished not only with new books on anthroposophy, but also with works in the field of education of the younger generation, astronomy, architecture and art. It is difficult to name an area of ​​public life that this unique person would not have touched in his works. Moreover, it should be noted that he was not a theoretician; Steiner successfully implemented all his ideas in practice. He created several schools, designed and built buildings, and wrote scripts and directed plays.

Rudolf Steiner gave frequent lectures and at the end of his life could give five lessons in one day. The great scientist died on March 30, 1925, leaving a large number of unfinished works and a wide circle of followers who are still working and living according to the Steiner system.

Of course, in order to be imbued with the ideas of a scientist, you need to study at least some of his works. They will fully help to understand who Rudolf Steiner really is. The biography, summarized, is not exactly what the readers need. Therefore, we will try to tell about this amazing person in more detail.

Spiritual development according to Steiner

Doctor of Philosophy paid great attention to such a topic as human self-development, and Rudolf Steiner believed that each person has his own path and the speed of progress along it. You should not compare yourself with others and enter into an internal conflict with yourself. This interferes with enlightenment and self-knowledge, closes the channels of communication with higher forces.

Steiner developed a large number of spiritual practices based on a combination of ancient occult sciences, world religions and philosophical movements. He was the first in history to be able to analyze the spiritual world using natural sciences and formulas. The result was a surprisingly clear and accessible guide to enlighten the mind and develop one's abilities. Steiner believed that the Universe, with all its knowledge, constantly interacts with man, and he needs to be involved in this process in order to feel the fullness of life. Otherwise, he will spend his whole life in anxious anticipation and search for something incredible. One of the first books on this topic, which was written by Rudolf Steiner - "Knowledge of supersensible worlds". She, of course, was not the last in this cycle, but in fact opened a series of works on the study of the spiritual world, which preceded the formation of anthroposophy.

From Theosophy to Anthroposophy: The World Through the Eyes of a Genius

Over time, numerous scientific works and books stood out as a separate teaching of Rudolf Steiner - anthroposophy. The creator himself called this amazing trend the "science of the spirit" and positioned it as a new philosophy of society. The very name of the doctrine was formed from two Greek words: "man" and "wisdom", it fits the characteristics of religious and mystical and is based on the knowledge of the spirit through thinking and a rational approach. It is worth noting that this science stood out from theosophy, which was extremely popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Theosophists actively studied the Christian religion and viewed the Bible and the history of Christ from a completely new perspective. The followers of Theosophy believed that the ability to contemplate and cognize God reveals to man the deep meaning of all things and events around him. At one time, Rudolf Steiner was very actively interested in this teaching and was even the leader of the Theosophical Society in Germany.

The very theory of Theosophy is based on philosophy, occultism and ancient spiritual practices. Moreover, almost all theosophists were highly educated people and actively studied world history and culture. At the end of the nineteenth century, Steiner made a presentation on Nietzsche in the department of the Theosophical Society and for the first time in his entire career felt understood and needed.

From the beginning of the twentieth century, Steiner began to work actively, in a short period of time he read more than six thousand lectures and wrote at least a dozen books. He gave all of himself so that people could better understand the interconnection of historical events with the level of spiritual and cultural development of the individual individually and of the whole society as a whole. The interest in the works of the scientist all over the world was obvious, because it coincided with the desire of people to penetrate into the essence of the universe, which no longer seemed to be something separate from everyday life, as religion had previously presented this question. A person strove for self-knowledge, and nothing could stop him on this path. Almost all of Steiner's lectures were based on his personal experience and therefore were more valuable to the audience.

The founder of the society, H.P. Blavatsky, had a very high opinion of Rudolf Steiner, because their ideas coincided on many main points of the doctrine. But by 1913, the tension between the leaders of the society and the occult philosopher increased, they completely disagreed, and Steiner, along with his followers, left the Theosophical Society, founding his own organization.

Anthroposophical Society

The teachings of Rudolf Steiner, which eventually took shape in almost a new science of society and its development, began to gain followers. After a while, the Anthroposophical Society became a kind of educational institution, where sciences were taught as a modified material, allowing, with the help of theory and practice, to discover new talents, aspirations and goals. Steiner's influence spread to many European countries, even in Russia he had followers who continued his scientific activity.

Thanks to anthroposophy, Steiner was able to push the development of pedagogy, agriculture and the arts. He created an amazing current that made it possible to change not only a person, but also the environment around him. And also to bring activities to a new level, because, according to Steiner, even the use of natural resources can have a spiritual origin and become more effective.

Waldorf pedagogy: a brief description

Rudolf Steiner paid great attention to the upbringing of children. He believed that their little souls can receive in the process of education a much more powerful impetus to development than is happening at the moment. The scientist began work on the creation of a pedagogical theory based on the freedom of the individual and the primary development of her talents. Steiner believed that they did not take into account the spiritual component and thereby miss the most important stage in the upbringing of the younger generation. Ultimately, a real pedagogical theory saw the light, expressed in a course of lectures that Rudolf Steiner had been collecting bit by bit for several years - "Education and Teaching from Human Cognition."

In 1919, he gave a course of lectures on raising children in Walldorf, which became the basis of a whole direction in pedagogy. The Waldorf Schools, which opened all over the world, carried out teaching according to a new method. At the present time, teaching according to the Steiner method is carried out in more than a thousand schools in Europe.

The main principles of the scientist's pedagogy are the simultaneous development of the so-called "three souls":

• physical;
• ethereal;
• astral.

Steiner perceived them as certain entities that are not born simultaneously with a person, but at different stages of his maturation. Therefore, the approach to the development and upbringing of a child should be based on this knowledge. Moreover, each of the entities is responsible for certain facets of a person's personality.

There are no textbooks and no grades in Waldorf schools; many use this methodology for home schooling. Until now, scientists are arguing about the appropriateness of such a system of education and do not come to a common opinion. But no matter how the teachers relate to the teachings of Steiner, no one can deny that in his theory of upbringing there are quite a lot of rational seeds that can be applied in combination with other methods.

Disclosure of the essence of Christianity

It is impossible to separate the scientific works of Steiner from the understanding of Christianity. The occult philosopher has always studied religion, he was able to draw a parallel between the main religious movements and deduce their common features. In addition, the scientist, practically from the point of view of natural sciences, proved the reality of the events set forth in the Bible, but managed to give them a slightly different color. On the basis of these scientific works, the Community of Christians was created, which for a long time was not recognized by the Christian Church and now in many countries of the world is not an official religious movement.

The most famous book on this topic, which was written by Rudolf Steiner - "The Mysteries of Antiquity and Christianity". To create this scientific work, he was helped by his own abilities of a clairvoyant and a contactee with spirits. As a child, the boy saw the spirit of his aunt, who suddenly died. He was able to talk to her and find out the cause of death. Surprisingly, the parents of the young Rudolph did not receive any reliable information about her death at that moment. From that time on, the child developed his abilities, and his spiritual experiences were the basis of many scientific works.

Society accepted Steiner's judgments about Christianity with interest. In the nineteenth century, it was customary to reject religion under the influence of technological progress and the development of scientific thought. The occult philosopher became the first person to prove the existence of higher powers with the help of science.

Space and Astrology: Perception of Robert Steiner

An Austrian scientist has written about space and its conquest by man more than once. Moreover, we can say that Rudolf Steiner and astrology are inseparable concepts. The philosopher attached great importance to her in the development of mankind. He believed that horoscopes should be compiled only using serious mathematical calculations, and they should be interpreted with the help of philosophy and historical knowledge. In this case, it would be useful, according to Steiner, to draw up a horoscope of the planets, then human civilization will better understand all the processes taking place on Earth and other planets.

Surprisingly, Rudolf Steiner, whose quotes about astrology were often used by various magicians and clairvoyants, had no doubt that in the foreseeable future man would master outer space. He spoke about several paths of development and proposed to determine the correct one, in which the cosmos will become a structure that is benevolent to people. According to Steiner's doctrine, technological progress should be based on completely different technologies than it actually happens. After all, it is necessary to use the energy of the Universe and a person's own biofield, and not create new machines that consume the resources of the planet. Another path of development, according to the scientist, is a dead end and does not bring anything good to a person even in the case of space exploration.

Architecture and art in Steiner's activity

Rudolf Steiner became one of the founders of a new trend in modernism in the nineteenth century. Architecture became the scientist's sincere love. He himself designed more than seventeen buildings. Three of them are recognized as monuments of the nineteenth century and are admired by architects around the world.

Steiner's most famous works are the two Goetheanums. These unusual structures combine a theater and a school belonging to the Anthroposophical Society. The first Goetheanum was built by people from all over the world, more than eighteen different peoples erected a structure that became a haven for all who aspired to self-knowledge and development.

Steiner left a rather bright and significant mark in art. He created sculptures, wrote and staged plays, painted pictures, mainly on a wooden surface, and did not even think how highly his descendants would appreciate his work.

The influence of Rudolf Steiner on the development of society

I would like to note that in his activities Steiner touched upon medicine, having founded a new trade mark, which today successfully functions on the market of natural health products.

In parallel, the scientist was working on a new technology for environmental management, we can say that he created which does not provide for fertilizing the soil with chemicals. People still use Steiner's developments in this area. In America, there are many biodynamic farms that are considered as a single organism. With this approach, the productivity and productivity of agriculture increases several times.

At the same time, the scientist was working on a kind of large-scale social project, which was supposed to lead to a complete change in the world outlook in society. Ultimately, humanity had to reach a completely new level of development, promising prosperity and enlightenment.

In Russia, the scientist's ideas were very popular. One of his followers was Peter Dynov. He often spoke about Rudolf Steiner in his lectures, and many of his works were based precisely on the calculations of the Austrian scientist. Quite often he was called the "Slavic Steiner", although his activities were not so large-scale and comprehensive.

Rudolf Steiner: books

If you are interested in the works of this extraordinary scientist, then you can always find his books written in a very easy and accessible language. The following editions should be best suited for beginners:

• "Essay on occult science".
• "Philosophy of Freedom".
• "Cosmology, Religion and Philosophy".
• "The path to enlightenment".

Each of these books fully reflects the author's worldview and will open to readers a completely new world, unknown and unknown.

It is difficult to give any characterization to Rudolf Steiner. His work prompted many people to change their lives, so the genius of the scientist is not questioned, and the scientific substantiation of the philosopher's theories still amazes scientists around the world with its accuracy in calculations and extraordinary simplicity.

Rudolf Steiner (Rudolf Steiner) was born on February 27, 1861 in the Austrian city of Kraljevic, in the family of a railway employee. Possessing supersensible abilities from childhood, the boy soon realizes that this is his exceptional feature, which should be kept silent.

After graduating from a real school, Steiner receives a broad education at the Vienna Polytechnic School. This is both natural science and mathematics education, this is a deep study of philosophy, and literature, and history.

At the age of 21, he began his scientific research with an in-depth study of Goethe's work. In Goethe he saw a thinker whose views on nature "led to the transition from the natural sciences to the science of the spirit." He participates in the preparation for publication of the natural science works of Goethe in the framework of the multivolume edition of "German National Literature" by Kürschner.

In 1891 Rudolf Steiner was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Rostokin University. In 1894 his fundamental work "The Philosophy of Freedom" was published. In 1897 he moved to Berlin, where he began to collaborate in magazines intended for a wider educated public. He strives to convey his views to a wide audience. But so far it remains unclear.

Here an event takes place that significantly influenced the further fate of Steiner. Theosophists became interested in his book "Friedrich Nietzsche - A Fighter Against His Time" and invited him to make a report on Nietzsche. He decides to publicly present the results of his spiritual experiences. For this, he becomes General Secretary of the German Section of the Theosophical Society. Since that time (the beginning of the twentieth century), we already see a new Steiner.

He works tirelessly as a lecturer and as a writer. His books were published as "Theosophy. An Introduction to the Supersensible Knowledge of the World and the Purpose of Man" (1904), "How to Achieve Knowledge of the Higher Worlds" (1904), "Essay on Occult Science" (1910). The total number of lectures he gave reaches 6,000.

His lectures attract huge audiences, his books are translated into many languages. He becomes the ruler of thoughts not only in Germany, but also in other countries, including Russia. Among our compatriots, his students were Andrei Bely, Maximilian Voloshin, Mikhail Chekhov.

The most important place in his lecturing activity is occupied by lectures on Christology, in which the significance of Christ and the mystery of Golgotha ​​as a central event in the evolution of mankind are illuminated in many ways. The difference in understanding the meaning of Christ led in 1913 to a conflict with the leadership of the Theosophical Society, as a result of which Steiner and a large group of his followers were forced to leave it.

But in the same year, the Anthroposophical Society was founded in Dornach, Switzerland. Representatives of 18 European nations, including our compatriot Andrei Bely, took part in the construction of its building, the so-called Goetheanum.

The Center for Anthroposophy becomes the "Free Higher School of Spiritual Science" and turns into a real university, where the content of all taught sciences was changed or supplemented on the basis of Steiner's spiritual research.

Attempts were made on Steiner's life. The Goetheanum building was set on fire and completely burned down on the night of January 1, 1923. This was a powerful blow to Steiner and the entire Anthroposophical Society. But already in the same year, at Christmas, a new "General or World Anthroposophical Society" was registered, the chairman of which was Rudolf Steiner and remained until his death.

The last year of Steiner's life was very fruitful. Already bedridden by illness, he continues to work on new esoteric comprehension of many of the themes he had developed earlier. “It was a powerful exhalation of his spirit,” Maria von Sievers-Steiner said about this time in his life.

Books (34)

Divine prayer. Esoteric study

Think about Christian prayer. You all know what it is. It was often discussed, and members of the anthroposophical movement often explained it in terms of a spiritual-scientific worldview.

This spiritual-scientific worldview brought the members of the anthroposophical movement a different method of raising the human being - the human soul - to contact with divine, spiritual, cosmic forces.

Bhagavad Gita and the messages of St. Paul

We stand today, as it were, at the starting point of the founding of the Anthroposophical Society in a narrower sense, and we must take this opportunity to once again remind us of the importance and significance of our common cause. It is true that what the Anthroposophical Society wishes to be for a newer culture should not in principle distinguish it from what we have always been doing in our circle under the name of Theosophy. However, it is likely that such giving a new name can still remind us of the seriousness and dignity with which we intend to act in our Spiritual movement, and in view of this point of view, I have chosen the title of this lecture course.

The inner being of man

The inner being of man and life between death and rebirth.

These lectures should show the close connection that exists between the inner life of a person and his life in the period from death to new birth.

Six lectures given in Vienna from 9th to 14th April 1914. Cycle 32 Library number 153

The impact of spiritual beings on a person

From the reports that have been read here recently, you could conclude that when we ascend clairvoyantly from the physical plane into the higher worlds, we meet there beings who, although they do not belong to our physical world, but who, as beings of the higher worlds, are so separate in ourselves, which we can also call them personalities in those worlds, just as we call the personalities of people here on the physical plane.

The boundaries of natural knowledge

The book examines the problems facing humanity in modern times, connected, on the one hand, with worldviews based on the results of natural science experiments, and, on the other hand, with social relations arising as a result of such worldviews.

Ways of overcoming these problems are given: both in the natural sciences - with the help of Goetheanism, and in social relations - with the help of new actions in social life based on spiritual knowledge.

The action of angels in the astral body of man

Anthroposophical spiritual comprehension should not be just a theoretical perception of the world, it should be a vital content and a vital force.

And only if we are able to strengthen our anthroposophical worldview in us so much that it really becomes truly viable in us, only then will it fulfill its task.

For, dear friends, uniting our souls with anthroposophical spiritual comprehension, we, in a sense, have become the guardians of quite definite significant processes in the development of mankind.

Gospel of Mark

Anyone who is seriously looking for the knowledge and deepening of his own "I", it should be clear that humanity is in development, and therefore what is called the understanding of this or that revelation, is also not something immutable; nothing is enclosed within the framework of one era, but the understanding deepens; so that, in essence, the deepest things concerning humanity, for one who is serious about the words "development" and "progress", urgently require that they be understood better, more thoroughly, deeper with the development of time.

Gospel of Matthew

When we talk about the Gospel of John, our soul is permeated primarily by the spiritual height of cosmic beings akin to man. Let us recall the feelings aroused in us by studying the Gospel of Luke.

They were of a completely different nature, weren't they? When we open our souls to the evangelist John, a premonition of spiritual greatness penetrates us, like a magical breath.

Egyptian myths and mysteries. Lectures

The cycle of lectures by Rudolf Steiner on Egyptian myths and mysteries offered to the reader represents a transition from introductory lectures to lectures on special topics.

In this cycle, against the background of a wide canvas of the formation of mankind in the early epochs of the history of the Earth, the origin of the most important images of mythology and elements of the mystery practice of ancient Egypt is shown, their connection with the images of later Greek mythology and, most importantly, the reflection of the Egyptian worldview and practice in modern culture.

Truth and Science

In his numerous lectures, Rudolf Steiner has repeatedly emphasized that he laid the foundations of his monistic doctrine of a single sensory-supersensible reality precisely in the philosophical writings of the early period of his work.

How to achieve knowledge of the higher worlds?

This book publishes my research, which was originally published in separate articles under the title: "How to attain the knowledge of the higher worlds?" This volume is the first part, the next one will conclude the continuation.

The appearance in a new form of this work on the development of man, leading him to the comprehension of supersensible worlds, must be preceded by several accompanying words, which will be said here.

A brief outline of anthroposophy

This work of the outstanding thinker and scientist, Christian initiate Rudolf Steiner is the final chapter of his book "The Riddles of Philosophy, Expounded as an Outline of Its History" (1914) and gives a deep understanding of the essence of the new spiritual science founded by R. Steiner, or anthroposophy, the relevance of which increases with each year.

The essay will be of interest to everyone who lacks a strong and harmonious mental life as a true tool for penetrating into the meaning of the ongoing historical changes, for conscious participation in them.

1907 lectures

These four lectures will emphasize in some way the more intimate sound, since it can be assumed that the audience is mostly composed of those who have been familiar with the fundamental ideas of the occult teachings for some time. Consequently, they may well be anxious to learn about the more intimate details from the field of Spiritual Science.

What will be chosen in these lectures are occult signs and symbols in their relation to the Astral and spiritual worlds and some of them will be explored in their deeper meaning.

Metamorphosis of mental life

Even someone who is going to cast only a brief glance at the spiritual life of mankind understands in advance how carefully one should handle the expression "transitional time". If you think a little about this concept, it becomes clear that, in essence, any time can be characterized as "transitional".

Nevertheless, there are epochs in the history of mankind that act, so to speak, as leaps in the evolution of spiritual life.

Ancient Mysteries and Christianity

Natural scientific thinking has had a profound impact on modern thinking. It becomes less and less possible to talk about spiritual needs, about the "life of the soul," without falling into conflict with the ideas and conclusions of natural science.

Of course, there are still many people who satisfy these needs without touching the circle of natural-scientific trends in their spiritual life.

Mystic

Whoever enters the world of my ideas without freeing himself from prejudice will find contradiction in contradiction in it. It was only recently that I dedicated a book on the worldviews of the 19th century (Berlin, 1900) to the great naturalist Ernest Haeckel, trying to show in it the legitimacy of his circle of thoughts. And in the following statement, I speak with full sympathy and recognition of the mystics, from Meister Eckhart to the Angel of Silesian. I will not mention other "contradictions" that may still be pointed out to me. I would not be surprised if I am condemned on the one hand as a "mystic", on the other - as a "materialist".

My life path

Rudolf Steiner is one of the most interesting and amazing spiritual phenomena of our century: he is the editor and publisher of the natural sciences of Goethe; author of significant works in the field of philosophy and theory of science; as the founder of anthroposophy, he made an attempt to create methods for studying the spiritual side of the world and man; he created a new art of movement - eurythmy. However, his name was best known in connection with the widespread use of pedagogical institutions operating on the basis of pedagogy created by him.

This book is an unfinished autobiography, first published by Maria Steiner in 1925. R. Steiner was prompted to write this book only by the fact that "... I feel obliged to refute some false ideas concerning the connection of my life with anthroposophy, and present it in its true light."

Overthrowing the Spirits of Darkness

Spiritual foundations of the external world.

The purpose of this course of lectures was to show how events taking place in the spiritual worlds affect all spheres of human life, including individual human health.

As a result of the battle of the Archangel Michael with Ahriman in the 19th century, the spiritual world was purified, and the demonic host was cast down into the world of people. Using specific examples from cultural, social and political life (the events in Russia in 1917 are also considered) R. Steiner shows how demonic beings bring destruction, chaos and rejection of truth into the human mental world.

People who have come under their influence, in particular, lose the ability to link facts into a single picture, and the masses of people acquire a tendency towards nationalistic manifestations.

Occult physiology

A cycle of eight lectures given in Prague on March 20-28, 1911, and a separate lecture on March 28, 1911.

The book is about a person, his structure and organs. How he communicates with the outside world. It tells about the deep correspondences between the human body and the cosmos. It is shown how, by studying the “external”, purely physical, one can come to the comprehension of the spiritual and the soul - in a person and in the Universe. Based on the data of the natural spider and spiritual research, these considerations open the way for further study of physiology as a science of a living person in all the fullness of his being, a person who feels, wills and thinks.

The main features of the social question

If we want to approach the tasks that modern social life sets before us with the thought of some kind of utopia, then we will inevitably fall into error.

It is possible, guided by certain views and feelings, to believe that certain social institutions based on certain ideas should make mankind happy; this faith can acquire the conquering power of persuasion; and nevertheless, in asserting such a belief, we will never understand what the "social question" really means for our era.

Fundamentals of the development of medical art

In this book, we will point out the new possibilities of medical knowledge and medical skill. Correctly assessing what is stated here can only be raised to the points of view from which these medical views arose.

This is not about opposition to modern medicine, which works with the help of scientific methods recognized by it. We fully recognize the principles of this medicine and believe that only those who are able to be a full-fledged doctor in accordance with these principles should apply what we have stated in the medical art.

Essay on occult science

The translation was made from the thirtieth edition of the book "Die Geheimwissenschaft im Umriss", which literally means "Tyynoscience in an outline", Dornach, 1989. An attempt was made to translate not literary, but as far as possible, literally, keeping the style, meaning and, where possible, the word order of German language.

Such a translation differs both in style and meaning from the one made in 1916. A few words should also be said about the author's surname. The author's surname in German "Steiner" is pronounced and read as "Steiner", not "Steiner", as it is sometimes translated literary.

Reincarnation and karma and their significance for the culture of our time

Translator: V.E. Vitkovsky

Lectures were delivered to members of the Theosophical Society.

Their text is based on the transcripts of V. Fegelan (Berlin lectures) and R. Hahn (Stuttgart), transcribed by the stenographers themselves. The translation is based on the Complete Works and Lectures of R. Steiner: "Rudolf-Steiner-Gesamtausgabe".

Rudolf Steiner, Steiner(it. Rudolf Steiner, February 27 in the town of Kralevets, Croatia (then - the Austrian Empire) - March 30, Dornach, near Basel, Switzerland) - Austrian mystic philosopher, writer, esotericist, creator of spiritual science known as anthroposophy.

Anthroposophy

Anthroposophical Society

With Mr. Steiner, he began lecturing at the Theosophical Society, headed by Annie Besant, and participated in the creation of the German section of the society. Since 1902 - General Secretary of the German section of the Theosophical Society, but in 1913 Steiner left the Theosophical Society.

At the same time in 1913 his wife Maria von Sievers, M. Bauer and K. Unger founded the Anthroposophical Society, which in 1923. R. Steiner reorganized, having founded on the Christmas Meeting 1923-24. the new General Anthroposophical Society (UAS) with its headquarters in Dornach, Switzerland, with branches in many countries of the world, still existing and numbering 43,000 members. During the years of the fascist regime in Germany, the Anthroposophical Society was banned, but continued to operate legally in Switzerland and some other countries. R. Steiner is the creator of Anthroposophy, a spiritual science, the essence of which is the desire to introduce scientific methodology into the study of phenomena of a supersensible order, to build a bridge between religion and ordinary science. Anthroposophy creates new directions in sociology - the movement for the social trinity -, pedagogy - the Waldorf School - in natural science - hetheanistic natural science - in medicine and pharmacology - anthroposophic medicine -, agriculture - bio-dynamic agriculture -, art - in painting, architecture , scenic and therapeutic movement - eurythmy, in the movement for the religious renewal of Christianity Community of Christians. In the field of religious studies, he established evolutionary links between the great world religions of the past and present - Hellenism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Christianity in its three main forms. The complete works of R. Steiner - books, transcripts of lectures - are currently 354t. in addition to the artistic heritage, notebooks, etc. From 1910 to 1922 he supervised the construction of the first Goetheanum - an anthroposophical center and at the same time a temple. On the night of December 31, 1922 to January 1, 1923, the first wooden Goetheanum fell victim to arson. In its place, even during the life of R. Steiner, the second Goetheanum was founded, where the center of the VAO is still located. R. Steiner died on March 30, 1925 in Dornach.

Russian Anthroposophical Society

The Russian Anthroposophical Society was founded in 1913.

The Russian Anthroposophical Society set as its goal "fraternal unity of people on the basis of recognition of the common spiritual foundations of life, joint work on the study of the spiritual nature of man and the study of a common core in the worldviews and beliefs of various peoples."

The company was denied re-registration in 1923 and its members continued to work illegally. Some of them have been persecuted.

In 1990, the Russian Anthroposophical Society resumed its work as the "Anthroposophical Society in Russia" (ASR) with headquarters in Moscow, it has branches in Ukraine and Germany. He is a collective member of the General Anthroposophical Society (UAS) based in Dornach, Switzerland. In addition to AOP, there is an anthroposophical movement, see anthroposophy.ru and rudolf-steiner.ru

“At the fateful time our country is going through now, much will depend on people who, despite all the difficulties and obstacles, will retain this original property of the human soul: its striving for the Highest, its irresistible striving to resolve the main issues of existence, without satisfying an answer to which no creativity, no positive construction is possible "(1991)

Major works

• Truth and Science, doctoral dissertation (Wahrheit und Wissenschaft), 1892;
• "Philosophy of Freedom" ("Die Philosophie der Freiheit"), 1894;
• Goethes Weltanschauung, 1897;
• Theosophie, 1904;
• "How to achieve knowledge of the higher worlds?" ("Wie erlangt man Erkenntnisse der höheren Welten?"), 1909;
• "Essay on Mystery Science" ("Die Geheimwissenschaft im Umriß"), 1910;
• "Riddles of Philosophy" ("Die Rätsel der Philosophie"), 1914;
• "On the Riddle of Man" ("Vom Menschenrätsel"), 1916;
• "On the Riddles of the Soul" ("Von Seelenrätseln"), 1917;
• "My Life Path" ("Mein Lebensgang"), 1925.

From the book by S. Riue-Coroz “The Epic of the Spirit of the Twentieth Century. Biography of Rudolf Steiner ".

“Anthroposophy, which came into the world thanks to Rudolf Steiner, brought powerful healing powers into all spheres of the present culture of mankind. It is no exaggeration to say that the spiritual legacy left by Rudolf Steiner is unmatched in the modern world in terms of its value and scope. During the entire period of his anthroposophical activity, he read more than six thousand lectures, and the complete collection of his works is more than 350 volumes. The Anthroposophical Movement, founded by Rudolf Steiner, has spread over the years in all cultural countries and develops in thousands of different initiatives: Waldorf kindergartens and schools, medical and educational institutions, medical clinics, pharmaceutical companies, art schools, eurythmy theaters, biodynamic agricultural farms, scientific laboratories, institutions, etc. "

Andrey Bely about Rudolf Steiner.

The outer life of Dr. Steiner is an edifying example: an amazing example; the shock could only get rid of itself in the two extremes of ADD and HATE; The AVERAGE feelings in us are sleep; he - WAKE. When the SLEEPING are awakened, they try to heed the awakening voice, but do not hear its words, or with vexation and abuse they turn on the other side.

He did not stand for DISTRACTED DOGMATS; what he knew well, he knew on purpose, he modeled all his life, translating, so to speak, into the jargons of different cultural spheres; he strove to harmonize the Babylonian crowd of specialties into a SYMPHONY of common work; and for the sake of a common cause, he did his best to become ALL FOR ALL.

In this bearing of the cross, in tireless self-restraint in the name of others, was his central Christian line.

He tried in every possible way to be "ALL FOR ALL"; and he also revealed this slogan to ap. Paul: with all my life.

His activity was likened to the permanent activity of a volcano, shaking those around him with tremors, causing a shock effect in them; everything around him was shaken; and everyone in his surroundings, for those uninitiated at this rate of tremors, walked with strangely widened eyes; it seemed: their faces were stretched out with amazement; there was something to be AMAZED! And these widened eyes were not funny, such eyes are probably made during earthquakes; he - shook the foundations of inert rest; every day of my life.

At the same time there was a permanent lava of his lectures; and, of course, after a certain period (for whom a year, for whom two), one should not listen to him, or listen in moderation; otherwise, the consciousness of an individual person felt itself to be covered with material supplied by him; even further - there was anesthesia of perception; but as a school for shaking up consciousness, this lava of lectures had to be experienced; and, having tested, - to flee from it. After all, he did not speak for the same audience; he said - "TO THE WHOLE WORLD"; and let this world turn away from him; on the 25th anniversary of his lecture, he was in a hurry to articulate what, having cooled down, in stelegia, may be the fertile soil of a new culture; and if he burned some, carelessly close ones, with his lava, he could not stop it, for he did not reprimand his neighbors, but the whole earthly world; and he spoke - not a quarter of a century, but - FOR AGE OF AGES.

RUDOLF STEINER. LIFE PATH.

Rudolf Steiner was born on February 27, 1861 in the town of Kraljević (Upper Austria, now Croatia) in the family of a station superintendent. In addition to Rudolph, the family also had a daughter and a son. The family lived in poverty. A year and a half after the birth of Rudolf, his father was transferred to Potschach, in Lower Austria. The family lived there until the age of eight, Rudolph. It was an area with beautiful nature, surrounded by mountains. Then another move followed, this time to Neuddorfl, the father was appointed head of a small railway station in this village. In 1872, Rudolf Steiner entered a real school because his father dreamed of making his son a railway engineer.

This school was located in Wiener Neudstadt, where Rudolph studied for seven years. At the age of fifteen, he began giving private lessons to students of his own and younger.

In 1879, Rudolf Steiner entered the Vienna Higher Technical School. His specialization there was mathematics. His only source of livelihood was private lessons, as his family was not rich. In addition to the Higher Technical School, Rudolf Steiner attended classes at the University. He was especially interested in lectures on philosophy and aesthetics. At the School of Technology, Rudolf was greatly influenced by Karl Julius Schroer, professor of literature. He awakened in Steiner interest in Goethe, acquaintance with the personality and works of Goethe, had a very deep influence on the further paths of cognition of Steiner. At the age of 21, Rudolf Steiner began an in-depth study of Goethe's work. He participated in the preparation and publication of the natural sciences of Goethe as part of the multivolume edition of Kürschner's German National Literature.

From 1882 to 1897 he worked in the archives of Goethe and Schiller in Weimar. In 1891, Rudolf Steiner defended his doctoral dissertation and received his Ph.D. in Rostock.

In 1897, Steiner moved to Bellin, where he contributed to various magazines.

He became acquainted with theosophical circles, who became interested in his book "Friedrich Nietzsche - a fighter against his time." The acquaintance turns into closer contacts.

In 1900-1901, Rudolf Steiner lectures at the Theosophical Society.

From 1899 to 1904 he taught history and natural sciences at the general education workers' school of Wilhelm Liebknecht in Berlin.

In 1902, Rudolf Steiner joined the Theosophical Society, the German section was formed, which Steiner led. He began his intensive lecturing activity, both in Berlin and in other European cities. Although formally he is a member of the Theosophical Society, the foundations of Anthroposophy are already being created. The books "Christianity as a mystical fact and the mysteries of antiquity", "Theosophy", "How to achieve knowledge of the higher worlds", "Steps of higher knowledge", "From the annals of the world", "Essay on mystery science" are being written. Rudolf Steiner writes his mystery dramas: "The Gate of Initiation", "Test of the Soul", "Guardian of the Threshold", "Awakening of Souls". They are staged in Munich.

In 1913, Steiner was expelled from the Theosophical Society, and he finally parted ways. In the same year, Rudolf Steiner proclaims the creation of the Anthroposophical Society, and on September 20, the cornerstone is laid at the beginning of the construction of the first Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. Representatives of 18 European nations participated in its construction, there were also many Russians, including Andrei Bely and Maximilian Voloshin. The Goetheanum project itself was something that had never been built before, it was a completely new word in the art of building, a huge number of carved parts, the work on which was trusted only by members of the Anthroposophical Society, and not by workers from the street. A new art of glass processing was created, stained-glass windows were made from glass, domes were painted by artists according to the plan of Dr. Steiner, and paints were made from natural materials.

In parallel with the construction, which absorbed a lot of energy, there was intensive lecture work, regular theatrical performances were made, the art of eurythmy and recitation was developed.

In 1919, the first Waldorf School was opened in Stuttgart, Germany.

In 1920, the "Free School of Higher Spiritual Science" began to operate in the Goetheanum.

On New Year's Eve from 1922 to 1923, the Goetheanum was set on fire by the enemies of Anthroposophy and completely burned down. It was a terrible blow and an ordeal for all Dornachs, especially for Rudolf Steiner. But the next day after the fire, in the workshops that remained after the fire, lectures continued again. Immediately it was about preparations for the construction of the second Goetheanum.

Rudolf Steiner, in addition to a huge spiritual heritage in the form of books and lecture cycles, sowed the seeds of entire branches of new life on Earth: this is Walfdorf pedagogy, biodynamic agriculture, anthroposophic clinics and pharmaceutical companies, and much more.